Using Galatians 1:1-5 as reference, the Apostle Paul gives an example of how the authority of God’s calling on our life should be protected and expressed.

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:1-5 ESV)

From a position of defending his call, the Apostle Paul gets right down to business and begins defending himself in the epistles salutation. He had a lot of ground to cover, and truth be known, so do men that are called of God into the ministry. A person that does not have the call of God to minster the Gospel, would never understand.

Paul declared to those looking to destroy his witness, that his calling and commission as an Apostle came from God and God alone; “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) (Galatians 1:1). His apostleship was not voted on by other apostles as was the case with Matthias, but his came from his Damascus Road experience, where Jesus personally called Paul, just as he had called Peter, Andrew, James, John and the others. The only difference was Paul’s calling came from the resurrected Christ.

My personal calling into the ministry, was established and commissioned by God and Him alone. It was His prompting that I heard, not the voice of man. He hand was moving on my life and I made the decision to follow Jesus as a minister. My calling was just as true and sure as the Apostle Paul’s.

Just being around the Apostle Paul convinced believers, that the he was God’s man. The change in Paul was the greatest argument for his calling. Everywhere Paul went, there was no question that the man, who previously was charged by the Jewish leaders to bring Jewish converts of Christ to the Temple for trial, was now in the enemies camp, a committed follower of Jesus Christ.

For me, this is a daily focus of my life; that others would see Jesus in me by the works that Jesus does through me. I should show fruit for people to see and by doing so, they will know that I am a man of God.

Even though Paul was slandered, ridiculed and not trusted, he wept, prayed and cared for them as a true shepherd. God gave him the fertile ground of Galatia in which to work, and Paul pastored his flock. All his flock, the good, the bad and the worst, did not keep him from completing the task that God set before him.

As a pastor, it is heartwarming to see through the eyes of Paul, as he shepherds his flock. His example is a tribute to God’s grace. That is my goal as well; to love the hard to love and those that would persecute, say evil things against me or to falsely accuse me. I want to show the same love that Christ did on the cross as He said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” That is the heart of Christ, and Paul “got it” from the beginning of his ministry. That is a great comfort to me and great examples of shepherding a flock.

Paul never backed away from giving the Gospel of Christ. The cost of his ministry was summed up in his epistle to the church at Corinth:But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:21-28 ESV).

Paul’s example of continuing the course that God had placed before him, no matter what the circumstances, is a great example to me as well. While I have not been imprisoned, shipwrecked, stoned, cold, hungry or destitute, it is my desire to proclaim to the world the mighty salvation and work of Christ. To this end, Jesus has called me and to this end I will go.

While this blog has concerned the walk of the Apostle and the Pastor, it is also a great comfort to every believer. God has called us to become a “new man” in Christ. No one can take that away. The creator of the universe, cares so much for you that Yahweh sent His Son to die in your place. For the believer, our task is sure:

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

It is very important to understand the history of Paul. In his own words, he describes himself as: “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.” (Acts 22:3-4).

Paul was not just a follower of Judaism; he was trained as a Pharisee and persecuted anyone that was not a devout adherent. This gives Paul great insight into the religion as well as describing his education. He was an enforcer of the Law. And yet now, he fully embraces salvation by grace as the only means of salvation.

Paul was God’s chosen vessel to proclaim grace to humanity and especially to the Gentiles. By his own words, it was by God’s grace that he was chosen for salvation and to be God’s messenger (Galatians 2:9).

Paul’s salvation (Acts 9) is well established by his first missionary journey in which he proclaimed the Gospel and started churches. His message of salvation is only by faith, by the Grace of God becomes the main point in all his writings.

The Apostle Paul, from the outset of the epistle to Galatia, is dealing with the heresy of adding requirements to the Gospel of Grace by faith. There is a great difference in believing that the grace of God is all that is required for salvation and those that would add works to salvation (circumcision in this case).

The Greek word for grace is charis. It is only found 13 times in the Gospels, but over 144 times in Paul’s writing. Paul’s epistles always use grace doctrinally, in connection with the dispensation of Grace.

The Apostle Paul goes so far as to proclaim; “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)

Paul never said it was wrong for Jews to be circumcised. He never said that it was wrong to keep the Law or to observe the Jewish festivals. He said that these have nothing to do with salvation. While customs and practices may differ, salvation never differs. There is only one way to be saved and that is by the Grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

On Sunday nights, our church has been studying the Old Testament book of Ruth. Last night as I was getting ready to leave, a lady in our congregation came up to me and suggested that I compare Ruth 1:21 and Job 1:21. This intrigued me. After I got home I eagerly looked at both passages. Wow.

What we see in these two verses are Naomi’s and Job’s response to the events in their lives. In each case, they had experienced great loss, but there is a dramatic difference in how each one perceived those losses.

Naomi lost her husband and two sons, which led to the loss of her living as there was no man to take care of her. She was in a foreign land (Moab) and decided to return to her home of Bethlehem because the famine was now over in Bethlehem.

As she entered her home town, the townsfolk and family happily turned out to meet her. We pick up the narrative in the first chapter.

Ruth 1:20-21 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi [pleasant], call me Mara [bitter]: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

As we can see, she is very bitter at her current situation and is convinced that the “Almighty” is against her and brought on all the calamities of life upon her. Naomi is “Naomi centered.” Her view of life is one of hurt, bitterness and depression.

This was fresh on my mind as we just finished the first chapter. I eagerly turned to the book of Job. In his case we know that God allowed Satan to interfere with Job’s life, up to the point of death. The incidents that took place included 1) his livestock, oxen, sheep, and camels were stolen and those that were watching over them were slain. 2) all of his 10 children died in a horrible accident (Job 1:13-19).

Job 1:20-22 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Job did not blame God. He also was hurt, but his outlook on life was God centered. He was in deep mourning at such a loss, but he fell down and worshipped God. In all this he did not charge “God foolishly.”

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you do not get a “free pass” of bad things happening to you in this life on earth.

In Jesus’ great teaching called the Sermon on the Mount, He gave the listeners this truth:

Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Bad situations will happen to us, that is a fact. It is how we respond to them that will show the intent of the heart to those around you. When life crumbles all around you, will you respond like Naomi or Job?

First page of the Gospel of Mark, by Sargis Pitsak, a Medieval Armenian scribe and miniaturist (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1 Corinthians 15

Introduction

The early church, persecuted to the point of imprisonment and death should have failed. The message they carried triggered division. Their leader was murdered and yet He was resurrected. Many saw him and heard him speak after He rose from the dead. The Roman guards were paid off to tell a lie.

And yet, His followers flourished. Everywhere new churches were forming. The Gospel Message was getting out. But how would they identify who they could trust. They had to have a way of identifying each other and to find safe places to hide and meet. For a while, Christian homes would display the ixthus (fish symbol, ‘ikh-thoos’) to identify a safe haven. Jesus calling of fishermen as His first disciples and the idea that spreading the gospel is like catching fish was easy for them to relate. Inside the sign of the fish would include five Greek letters. The letters formed “ixoye” is an acronym comprised of the first letter of five Greek words: iota – Jesus, chi – Christ, theta – God, upsilon – Son, and sigma – Savior…Jesus Christ is God’s Son, our Savior.

These five Greek letters became the message that Christians clearly identify with.

A password was also given that would be easy to identify and yet be general enough that the non-believer would not understand. The pass phrase would be spoken, “He is risen”. If the other person responded, “He is risen indeed” that would be the authority that they were followers of Jesus the Messiah.

History tells us of statements made that we will always remember.

J. F. K’s “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.”

Do you remember when we were made to memorize the preamble to the Declaration of Independence?

I still remember every word of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

I remember hearing the scratchy recording of FDR’s words; “a day that will live on in infamy.”

In addition, I remember when Linda said she would marry me. These words are forever etched in my mind.

Today I would like to remind you of some words uttered by an angel to a follower of Jesus at His empty tomb that mankind must never forget.

“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:6)

In churches all across the world today, the message of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ is celebrated.

This is the Christian High Day.

We remember today that death and the grave could not hold Jesus. Throughout the early church, the cross was not commemorated as the central theme of the Gospel, the resurrection became the capstone. All through the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the Gospel presentation always included the resurrection as the cornerstone.

Biblical scholar, G. E. Ladd, stated, “The entire New Testament was written from the perspective of the resurrection. Indeed, the resurrection may be called the major premise of the early Christian faith.”

The Gospels reveal the remarkable events that Jesus said and did during his three and a half years of ministry. However, the remainder of the New Testament barely mentions these miracles. The emphasis is on Jesus death and resurrection. Much of what we consider Christianity and the message of the early church; how to live, how to love, how to defeat sin, and our hope for the future is centered on the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.

Without the resurrection, Jesus was just a prophet going about doing good. With the resurrection, Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away our sin.

Without the resurrection, many of the prophecies remain unfulfilled. With the resurrection, only the final chapter remains.

Without the resurrection, God’s redemptive plan is without the perfect sacrifice. With the resurrection, Jesus sits down next to the Father waiting to return to earth to gather in His bride.

References to the Resurrection in Scripture

In the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul clearly identifies the importance of the resurrection of Jesus.

“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain”…”And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17)

In order to be considered an Apostle, the qualifications included seeing Jesus after His resurrection. (Acts 1:22)

On that great Feast Day of Pentecost, Peter spoke of the resurrection of Jesus. (Acts 2:31)

Peter and John preached the resurrection of Jesus, after which they were arrested. (Acts 4:1-2)

The Apostle Paul preached “Jesus and the resurrection.” Acts 17:18)

The Apostle Paul in writing to the church at Rome declared “Jesus to be the Son of God and His resurrection”. (Romans 1:4)

The Apostle Paul lays out the importance of the resurrection to the church at Corinth. He takes great care to give the brethren hope and encouragement to those who are grief-stricken. Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecies. With the resurrection, Jesus conquered death.

The Bible speaks of resurrection in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

12Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20 ¶ But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)

51 ¶ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 ¶ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)

The resurrection of Jesus is the pinnacle of Jesus being God. Other religions may be ethical, moral, agree that there is an afterlife and even have their own scriptures. But Christianity stands alone because God became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus died for His people and He was raised from the dead in power and glory.

You may be saying, “Preacher why are you so focused on the resurrection?” Well let me give you some reasons why the resurrection of Jesus is so important.

The resurrection proclaims the deity of Christ (Romans 1:4)

The resurrection turns the tragedy of the murder of Jesus into the triumph of God’s redeeming power.

When Jesus was raised from the dead, the world now faces redemption instead of ruin.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered death and therefore His Bride will conquer death as well.

When Jesus rose from the dead we know that He will keep all the promises recorded in Scripture.

When Jesus rose from the grave that early Sunday morning, the Church was given a message to proclaim to the world. The Apostles preached that Jesus had been raised from the dead!

The resurrection of Jesus gives us hope in times of great tragedy and hope for the future.

The resurrection of Jesus assures us that Jesus is on the throne, sitting on the right hand of God.

The same power that resurrected Jesus will one day bring our mortal bodies to life. (1 Corinthians 15:12–19).

After the resurrection Jesus has been preparing a mansion for me (John 14:1-6)

In Christian denominations, we can look different, worship differently, and even have differing views on politics, how to live our lives and varying theologies. But the one point that is true of all Christians today is: Jesus rose from the dead.

Conclusion

The resurrection celebration of Easter invites all to believe that Jesus is the Son of God!

The decision is yours. The gift has been laid before you. Will you accept it?

On Monday we celebrated the 4th of July for the two hundred and thirty-fifth time. This holiday is celebrated in towns and cities all across America with parades, picnics, barbecues, fireworks and concerts. It is on this date that the United States commemorates Independence Day.
It is a federal holiday, celebrating the writing of the Declaration of Independence, declaring our desire for independence from Great Britain signed on July 4, 1776.

John Quincy Adams is quoted as saying, “You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make good use of it.”

Have you ever taken your freedom for granted? The greatest sacrifice is one laying down his life for another. We should remember the importance of Independence Day as a struggling group of people were united into a nation as they declared their Independence from Great Britain.

Our freedom has been purchased by the blood that has been shed by the men and women who have defended our country, some paying the greatest price with their own lives.

Today’s military is manned by some of the most interesting people. They love the US so much that they will leave it and go to foreign lands to defend it. They revere freedom so much that they will give up their own freedoms and serve this nation in the military. And finally they love peace so much that they will go to war in order to have peace.

As citizens of the United States of America, we have a responsibility to be thankful to those who have served our great Nation.

However, we will never truly have freedom until we accept Jesus into our lives. Jesus declares freedom for mankind in the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:31-32, 36. Little did those within hearing distance of Jesus realize that their freedom would cost Jesus His life.

The Apostle Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy and explained what Jesus did for mankind; “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all…” (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

Just as the military man will lay down his life for the defense of freedom for our nation, about two thousand years ago, Jesus was the ultimate example when he willingly gave up his life for mankind.

As you remember and celebrate Independence Day, remember those who gave so that this nation is still free today. Also be thankful to God for sending His Son as a “ransom for all.”

For the follower of Jehovah or Jesus Christ, the theological message of the first book of the Bible is, there is a God and God is responsible for all creation. Beginning from the first verse of the Genesis we find the evidence of a supreme being that is the creator of all things; including the much debated creation of man. Genesis 1:1 clearly encapsulates the whole of scripture; “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In this very simplistic but all-inclusive verse, we are presented with the evidence of one God for all to see. God exists. There is an implied absolute beginning and the God of the Bible brought all creation into existence. “In the beginning God…” The clarity of God being “in the beginning” sets the foundational stone that God was at the beginning. Therefore God was before the beginning for He was the Creator. It is a stated fact

The Bible introduces us to God in Genesis chapter one. The Hebrew word ‘God’ as used in verse one and thirty-one times in the first chapter of Genesis is Elohim. Elohim is used over 2,500 times in the Old Testament. Elohim emphasizes one supreme God stressing His power and quite often used when in the context of the Supreme Being in the act of creation.

Chapter one of Genesis is one of the most hotly debated chapters in the Bible. Satan’s attack on the infallibility, inspired Word of God begins at the first verse. Those against special creation, in six twenty-four hour days, form the battle lines between the forces of evil and of God. If Satan can focus man’s attention away from creation, then he can also cause doubt on every other doctrine in scripture; atheism, polytheism, evolution, materialism and sin. Is there a God? Were the worlds created? If Satan can cause uncertainty at this very fundamental point, Satan can cause doubt for every other fundamental doctrine in scripture.

Throughout the whole of scripture there is a consistent declaration of the creation and that God was the Creator. (Exodus 20:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 90:2, 96:5, 148:5, Isaiah 45:18, John 1:3, Hebrews 11:3)

It is my intent to discuss the various theologies that are located in chapter one of Genesis.

The first will be the idea of atheism. Atheism, according to its definition and etymology, declares a denial of the being of God. Atheism, affirms the nonexistence of God. An atheist is someone who rejects belief in any form of deity, not just the traditional Judeo/Christian God. It is also interesting that there seems to be no consensus on the definition of atheism. The atheistic theology is denounced in the very first verse of Genesis. “In the beginning, God.” There is no room for debate or even discussion in the Bible concerning whether there is a God or not. The statement carries with it the most profound and yet simple statement ever made there is a God. So therefore atheism is opposed. In Psalm14:1, the psalmist David declares, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God…”

In every aspect of our life, there is a Cause and an Effect. The one argument the atheist cannot answer is where the first ‘cause’, creation, came from. The ‘effect’ is the solar system, animals, plants and man. Who was the first Cause? Genesis tells us it was God who started all creation when He spoke and said;

“Let there be light”

“Let there be a firmament”

“Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind”

“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night;”

“Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven”

“Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth”

Atheism does not present a viable solution in lieu of creation; therefore it is not a viable theology as God created the heavens and earth.

Another theology to explore is polytheism. Polytheism by its very entomology means – poly – many and theism – god. It is the belief of numerous personal deities, called gods or goddesses. These gods are finite as they had a beginning as the result of sexual union or created from natural forces. Each deity has its own belief system and rituals. Their rule is normally over a particular domain such as the earth, sky, sea, love, etc. Polytheists do not always worship all the gods equally, but can center their belief and worship of one particular deity. Other polytheists can worship different deities at different times according to their need.

Polytheism then is in direct contradiction to the scriptures, particularly in Genesis chapter one. Over and over again we see that Elohim was the creator and the only God.

The next point to discuss is materialism. Materialism is a human philosophical invention. Materialism is the belief system that matter is the only reality. The main tenet of the materialist is that matter, left to itself, produced all things. The universe was randomly formed by the organizing of materials already in the cosmos. Life was eventually formed by purely natural means. Materialism continues that since matter produced all things that includes man and his brain. Over time this brain then imagined the idea of things supernatural, which includes the idea of the spiritual realm, of God, gods, of eternal life, and so forth.

Materialism is unavoidably atheistic. The theory of materialism is its own enemy and is fatalistically flawed because it denies any purpose; everything is reduced in importance to mere chance. The only source for understanding materialism is human thought. Therefore materialism is only defined by the brain which was formed by random materials.

The final point of discussion is evolution. Evolution is defined from the Latin term evolution meaning “unfolding”. Evolution first appeared about 900 BC so it is a late theory. There are many different fields of evolution, but in considering evolution in light of Genesis, this discussion is centered on biological evolution. From the evolutionist point of view life came from the non-living (materialism). Life was not there then suddenly all materials came together and life appeared. That is called spontaneous generation. The evolutionist will not define where the materials originally came from, just that it did and it became an accepted fact. This is the point of beginning for the evolutionist. Life just started and then began evolving. In order to have an evolving species life must have begun. There is no stake in the sand, just the idea that life happened by natural means not through a supreme being.

Evolution and Genesis are in direct opposition to each other. On the one hand the evolutionist believes life came from non-life materials that were already in the cosmos. The creation account in Genesis chapter one defines that God created everything ex nihilo, out of nothing. No materials floating around for God to use. God spoke the worlds into space and time. God spoke and plants, animals and man were created, ex nihilo. Creation says there is a supreme being that created. Evolution says there was no creator, just material.

Conclusion

In the first verse of the first Book of the Bible we have the confirmation of God. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This first verse rebuts atheism because it explains the existence of God. It rebuts polytheism as it explains that there is one God. It rebuts materialism, for it shows that God created the materials in creation. And finally it rebuts evolution as God created the animals and man. God did not leave it to chance.

There are several theological and scientific views concerning the creation of all things; cosmos, earth, animals and man. The two foundational stones in each of these theories centers on; (1) the time it took for creation; billions of years to six literal days, and (2) who or what was the force behind creation.

Image via Wikipedia

The point of the argument is this; “Does God really mean what He says?” A “face value” reading of Genesis chapter one, in context and without any preconceived external ideologies, would lead the reader to believe that God created all things, including the first two human beings in six literal days. Each day is defined with the phrase “and the evening and a morning were the (first, second, etc.) day”. Moses, the author of Genesis, was writing in the language of his day to be understood, most importantly through the inspiration of God, and concluded that each day of creation was an “evening and morning”. Six days of creating and then one day of resting. By accepting the six literal days of creation, the earth then is not billions of years old, but instead just thousands or a young earth compared to an old earth. There is no need to insert time gaps into the creation model unless it is to force another theory into Genesis chapter one.

The word “day” can have many meanings and uses. A day can mean “a period of time”, or “daylight hours”, or “a twenty-four hour period”. It is important to understand how the word is being used in Genesis One, in context, just as it would to be for someone today to understand when they said, “Back in my dad’s day” or “let’s meet one day next week” or “two days from now”. Each use of the word “day” has a specific meaning that can only be truly understood when used in the context of the sentence. The Hebrew word for day is “yom” and like the English word “day”, according to a typical concordance, has many different meanings including; a specific point of time, a period of light as contrasted to darkness (Genesis 1:5; 14-16, 18), a 24-hour period, a chronology, a year or an indefinite period of time (Psalms 90:10.

Considering the different uses of “yom”, the only way to correctly define what God meant when he signified “evening and morning were the (first, second, etc.) day” is to look at the context and structure of the sentence. In hermeneutics there is a statement that says; “A text without context is pretext.” In other words if we take the text out of the context in which it is written leads one to have a pretext of the meaning outside of the meaning of the writer.

In each instance of the days of creation (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31), the phrase “evening and morning” are used with the number of the creation day. If we look at the other uses of “yom” outside of the creation of Genesis chapter one, there are over three hundred times where a number and “yom” are used that mean a literal twenty-four hour period. Looking at the phrase “evening and morning” with “yom”, there are over sixty times they are used together and each time is an ordinary day. Why would the usage of “yom” in Genesis chapter one be different than all these other verses?

Therefore on this one point, in the usage of the words of our language, in the context they were written and their definitions, without having outside influences, the word for “day” as used in Geneses One as used with a number, must mean an ordinary day of about twenty-four hours.

Evolution and Theistic Evolution requires two crucial elements; long periods of time and life out of no life (materialism). Atheists and evolutionary theists generally agree on these two elements, but go about it differently. The atheists do not believe in God, so there is no special creation in six days but taking six billion years for creation. Theistic evolutionists profess a certain belief in the Scriptures and attempt to harmonize the biblical account of creation in Genesis, while inserting the evolutionary scenario into the mix. The theistic evolutionist therefore, does not believe in special creation in six days, but that through six periods of time, God moved on matter and the creation took place. Their definition of the term “day” is allegorical and represents the definition of “day” that is a period of time instead of a single solar day of twenty-four hours. The theistic evolutionist’s model is the “Day-Age” theory which says that each day of creation was an age (period of time). In this way they attempt to harmonize “Special Creation” and “Evolution” into one theory.

Theistic evolutionists will give one of their proof texts as 2 Peter 3:8 where Peter, referring to Psalms 90:4, says, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Of course this verse is taken out of context. Peter was trying to illustrate that in the last days there would be those who would say that since Jesus had not returned yet, He was not coming back at all. Peter focuses their attention to the flood and to those who scoffed at Noah. Peter then pens the words of the eighth verse which was never intended to be a mathematical formula, but that God is the creator of everything including the universe and time itself. Peter’s point was not that a day equals one thousand years as a standard of time for man to use in understanding God’s time, but that God is above time itself. The LORD defines time, not man (Hebrews 1:2)

There are many problems with this theory. One is that they take special creation of Genesis One out of the mix. Instead their premise is that God got everything started then let nature take over. They also work so hard on proving their point about the definition of “day”, that they totally disregard the use of “evening and morning”. The “Day Age” theory would be rendered “and ‘thousands/millions/billions’ of evenings and mornings” are the first day. To prescribe to this theory would be analogous to saying that when Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights that he was actually in the fish for three thousand years until he was vomited out on dry land. A greater miracle than the creation of the world in six days would be that Jonah and the fish would live for thousands of years. The word in Jonah 1:17 for the number of days in the belly of the fish is the same day as used in Genesis 1:5, 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31; “yom”.

There are those that say that a literal twenty-four hour day could not have been until day number four when the sun, moon and stars were created. Genesis 1:14 says; “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:” (emphasis mine). This point is not convincing one way or another. God could have created in the first three days of creation, by design, twenty four hour days into the solar system. When the “lights in the firmament of heaven” were made on the fourth day, they could have been in sync with the definition of “time” that God had originally intended.